Charlotte Hornets owner Michael Jordan has revealed that he is bewildered by suggestions from LeBron James and Dirk Nowitzki for a shorter NBA season.

The pair insisted that they would like to see the 82-game season shortened as the NBA look to test out a 44-minute game in a pre-season encounter between the Brooklyn Nets and Boston Celtics this weekend.

However, both James and Nowitzki don’t believe that will particularly help the situation, and they have called for a shorter season in terms of games rather than reduced minutes.

Bulls legend Jordan admitted he was surprised by that and has warned them that if they want to play less games then in turn they need to be prepared to make sacrifices of their own.

“I love both of those guys, but as an owner who played the game, I loved playing,” Jordan told ESPN.com during a telephone interview.

“If I wasn’t playing 82 games, I still would’ve been playing somewhere else because that’s the love for the game I had. As a player, I never thought 82 games was an issue.

“But if that’s what they want to do, we as owners and players can evaluate it and talk about it. But we’d make less money as partners. Are they ready to give up money to play fewer games? That’s the question, because you can’t make the same amount of money playing fewer games.”

Jordan also failed to support the idea of playing a shorter 44-minute game as he believes that unless the players were having physical issues, it would be a pointless change to make.

While he understands that the sport is still gruelling, particularly over such a long season, he emphasised the point that it is not football and the players don’t suffer from the same problems after they retire from a physical standpoint.

Therefore, Jordan wants to keep to the same format of 82 games per season at 48 minutes each, and as a result he goes against what many have said this week who support the idea of lessening the load on the players.